Somewhere in Kent

Well we got here in one piece........its 23.35 and I'm having a crafty gin and tonic in the living room of Sorrel's neat little maisonette  after she, the Welsh terriers and Chris have all gone to bed.
Her pristine carpets remain pristine which was more than could be said for Chris' nephew's bedroom, which was liberally peppered with dog turds, just as I was tucking in to the tasty French vol au vents.

And so much of my evening has been spent scrubbing an 11 year old's carpet with a spare facecloth and dettol in front of 100 posters of Dr Who......
Hey Bloody Ho!
I haven't had time to catch up with blogs for a few days so please forgive me......
( I say this as I take one last swig of gin .......with my glass hand smelling somewhat of ...........
Happy Boxing Day
X
Ps

I have just been emailed this photo of turncoat George

who is staying at my sister's house

How quickly are we forgotton 

( note the xmas scarf)

In laws

Off to see the in laws

down in Kent!

1. Dr Chris has already laid out enough outfits to keep the cast of Downton Abbey

in clothing for a month

2 Weather warnings have been posted for most of England
3. I have an awful predisposition for car sickness on long journeys !

And

At 5.30 am Meg had me up and bleaching the kitchen floor after

She downloaded a particularly unpleasant and heavy bout of the shits!

Now where's Winnie's all singing fanny cloth when you need it?

I am now worried about my mother-in-law's pristine cream carpets
and marks and Spencer's best duvet set

Hey ho

Post

This Christmas Card got to us yesterday

The envelope amused the postman no end

" you get a load of these strangely addressed cards and letters" 

he quipped the other day when a Christmas card from Canada arrived with

The overly simple address of

John  Gray, 

Trelawnyd, 

WALES 

written on the envelope.

" There are a great many odd people out there" he joked

" there are a few very odd people living here" I answered.

" Bring On The Baby Jesus"

Christmas Eve has a pace all of its own

Jobs to be finished so to speak.

I've bought last minute gifts 

and have caught up with Islwyn and animal helper Pat who will be animal sitting when we are away.

I've made a sherry trifle minutes before Mrs Trellis informed us that she will be bringing one down

to us this afternoon.

The lady from the Still House 

sent around a card with crochet snowflakes in it

and Chris has prepared the Church for the Evening service

when Christine D ceremoniously " brings in the baby Jesus"

There's ham and picalilly for tea
and the only sound from inside the warm cozy cottage is the sound
of William carefully licking the wax from inside the ears of a near comatose Winnie.

HAVE A PEACEFUL AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Cheers!

Sometimes I say I have had a shitty shift at work
Today I really did have a shitty shift at work....
I was working alongside an affable despot of a nurse and the two of us had responsibility for three acutely ill patients
we skipped breaks  because we had to, coped with bereaved families, hospital red tape and laughed loud and hard ( but with an edge) when I split my pants transferring a lady from one bed to another
After  I got home, and after eating a load to shit from McDonalds
I received this Message

Fuck it if alcoholic pancreatitis doesn't kill me , something will !

Thanks for making today bearable x x 

Merry Christmas x

Sent from Samsung Mobile

Happy christmas Greta 

X

The Good

The image of the Muslim bride placing her wedding bouquet on the Sydney memorial for the two Australians killed in the Martin Place seige was, I guess, pure gold to the newsmakers from across the globe.
But it remains something more than that.

For It underlines the good

Almost 2am

I've just done a 10 pm to 1am shift at Samaritans 

It's an odd shift cos it's busy and I never have the ability to go to bed as soon as I get home
as I always have a need to unwind for an hour or so before retiring!

In the end, I started to judge the best Christmas card we have received
this year!

Marks were given for originality , humour and style

And after 26 minutes of deliberation 

( I know get a life)

This is the winner!

A homemade card from blog reader Judith

My " oldest follower"

When I was on duty I did share with my fellow SAM my upset at

My secret Santa debacle 

He asked me what I would have liked to have been given and

I suggested 6 scotch eggs

Or 

The Walking Dead's Daryl Dixon action figure

My colleague nodded very slowly

Very 

Very slowly

Hey ho

No one understands me

Nite nite

X

Fucking Secret Santa!

I worked a night shift last night and took in my secret Santa pressie to add to the pile in the unit office.
I had to buy for a nurse I don't really know, so I played safe and bought him, two expensive looking hand painted coffee mugs and some tasteful designer coffee. Ok not the most exciting of secret Santa gifts but you can't go wrong with Marks and Spencer's best, especially as you well exceed the 10 quid target price.
In between jobs I picked my secret Santa gift out of the pile ( regular readers may remember that last year I was given a bloody cheap and disgusting looking superman onesie ) and in a fit of expectant excitement I opened it!
This is what I found

A set of plastic deer antlers

Complete with " realistic" plastic " wood effect" plinth

Which was made in China

Even my patient , who was seriously ill , had the wherefore all to

say " that's a shit gift" when he saw them.

Hey ho

Off to bed